Hyperlocal logistics startup Grab claims 12K deliveries a day

Hyperlocal logistics startup Grab claims 12K deliveries a day

Mumbai-based hyperlocal logistics service provider Grab a Grub Services Pvt Ltd is back in the market to raise fresh venture funding worth around $10 million (Rs 66 crore), a person familiar with the development said on Monday.

The firm is in talks with some institutional investors and expects to close the transaction next month, the person said.

When contacted, co-founder Prashant Sanghvi declined to comment.

This comes soon after the firm raised funding from consumer centric venture fund Sixth Sense Ventures. The firm disclosed on Monday that it has raised funding from the VC fund floated by former IDFC Securities' managing director and its co-head of research Nikhil Vora. It did not share the investment value (click here for more details on the transaction first reported by VCCircle).

Restaurant listing and online food ordering startup Zomato had earlier participated in the same funding round. Interestingly, Zomato had also invested in another hyperlocal delivery startup called Pickingo.

"Grab is our vehicle to participate in the hyper growth in hyper local and I am thrilled to partner the team at Grab," said Nikhil Vora. This is the fourth investment from the VC firm's maiden fund.

In December 2014, it made its debut investment in luxury watches retailer Ethos Ltd. In January this year, it put money in Cross Roads India Assistance Pvt Ltd, a road-side assistance provider for cars and two wheelers. In August, it joined several others to co-invest in media group NDTV 's e-commerce venture Gadgets 360 degree.

Meanwhile, Grab claims to have over 600 clients across sectors such as e-commerce, restaurants, pharmacy and grocery in 10 cities, almost double the number in March this year. It has also tripled its delivery boys or riders to around 1,600 in the same period and said it is now delivering nearly 12,000 orders per day.

Grab was launched in 2012 Sanghvi, Nishant Vora and Jignesh Patel.

An alumnus of Drexel University, Sanghvi served as a consultant at Blackrock for nearly seven years. While Patel, an alumni of Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, was earlier associated with Century Electronics & Electrical Equipment as managing partner for around nine years, Vora is an engineering graduate from Mohawk College and is also a promoter at Silver Foliage.

The company is planning to launch its operations in Hyderabad and Chennai by the end of the year. "We are planning to add 100-150 clients in these two cities by the end of this year," Vora said, adding that it aims to expand its operations in eight more tier-II and III cities.

It claims to have delivered orders worth Rs 35 crore in Mumbai for the year ended March 31, 2015.

In April, Grab had raised $1 million (Rs 6.3 crore then) from Oliphans Capital and former Network18 CEO Haresh Chawla.